Failure to Success by Bailey

Failure to Success by Bailey - August 2014 Scholarship Essay

I've had many failures in my life that have helped shape me into the person I am today. However when certain mistakes or events occur they have the capability of shattering goals along with futures. I'm very passionate about my education and the possibilities of where it can take me, and what I can achieve with it. I come from a lower income family and I knew that the only way I could achieve my dreams would be to exceed academically in school. There are no excuses for personal failures, however there can be factors that help influence those results.

During my sophomore year of high school my parents went through a terrible divorce, and shattered the life I had known to be true. I became very stressed and my grades started to fall. It was the second semester of sophomore year and for the first time I began noticing that I was failing exams, and I was fearful I wouldn't be able to recover. My reality punched me in the face when my grades were entered in as D’s and F’s. Frantically, I went to my teachers and they said there was nothing I could do but try harder the next time around. I realized at that time I was the only one who could save myself from any roadblocks or conflicts presented to me. When my parents went their separate ways, I was left to put the pieces back together for my younger sisters and I. In the midst of my high school career, while being immersed into a multitude of AP classes, and juggling leadership roles in clubs, I was facing extreme hardships at home and was forced to move out. With so many growing distractions, I knew that I had to make changes in order to achieve my goals.

I had to fail in order to realize that I needed to make changes, it was a wake up call for me. I could see the outcomes of the negative path my life could take, and I wasn't going to let that happen. I knew in that moment that I could lean towards other unfavorable outlets or I could take control and steer it in the right direction. It helped motivate me to put the negative aspects of my life aside, and not let my current circumstances define the rest of my life. I never wanted to fail, but I’m grateful it happened because it reminded me of who I wanted to be, and what I had the capability of achieving. After a rough few years of high school, I graduated number one in my class of six hundred seniors. Failure has been built up to be an incident that should be avoided and ashamed of. However sometimes it's these failures, and these low points in people's lives that can provide motivation and act as a catalyst towards improvement and success.